by Liz D. Marx
Chloe swallowed dry. His words dripped with dangerous sarcasm, the type you only hear in superhero movies right before the villain ties the damsel in distress to a ticking bomb or something. The problem was that Chloe’s hero was still lying on the ground, very much comatose.
William walked to her and ripped the silver tape off. Pain shot across her face.
“What the hell is happening, William?” Chloe asked after managing to suppress the ache on her cheeks.
William lifted his eyebrows. “You truly have no idea, do you?” His scornful chuckle cut her deep. “Why do you think I kept on assigning you to the Black Hole? From your first interview at the Institute I knew you were the answer to my prayers. I knew you had it in you, Chloe.”
“Had what in me? What are you talking about?”
Chloe was in shock―this could not be happening! She remembered the attack in the park, then the raid at the Caddo Village. Those had not been light-hearted attempts to get to the stone. “Why are you trying to kill me?”
“Kill you? No, my dear, you got it all wrong. I don’t want to kill you,” William said as Pamela handed him the magical stone.
Chloe’s complete puzzlement must have shown, because he let out an impatient sigh and explained. “As soon as I saw you trying to hide something from me, I knew you had found it. I put you there, Chloe. I gave you all the tools to find the stone for me. All I had to do was sit back and wait.”
His fingers brushed the top of the triangular shape, where a sharp tip should have been. The stone remained gray and dormant. A humorless huff came out of William’s pursed lips. “The tip has been broken.”
The sight of her boss’ face near the stone jerked something in Chloe’s mind. It was only then that she noticed a large scar on William’s neck. It was right below his jaw, dangerously close to his jugular.
“Oh, my gosh!” she cried out as understanding sank in. “You’re the captain! The one who attacked me!”
“Attacked you?” Now it was his turn to look confused. William crouched in front of her, his eyes narrow in suspicion. “How do you know I used to be a captain, Chloe?”
His stare was penetrating, searching for clues.
“I was there,” she replied, fear and revulsion churned in her belly. “You led the cavalry that slaughtered the Tula tribe.”
He glanced at the stone then back at Chloe, then his face lit up, and for a second Chloe was reminded why so many women at her department fell head over heels for the jerk.
“So, you’ve found a way of activating the portal. I must admit, Chloe, I am impressed,” William snarled then brought his hand to the scar. “When I woke up the morning after the attack, it was all finished. My mind was blurry, my mouth was dry, and the fatal wound a little Indian bitch had given me had already closed. My men had presumed me dead and had left me there on the field. Stupid bastards. But you see, I consider that day my rebirth, not my death. And this,” he pointed at the stone, “is my gateway to greatness.”
Chloe finally understood. Her boss knew about Mantaka and the stone’s magic. She had experienced it herself; she had felt its power. A cold knot settled in the pit of her stomach as she imagined the destruction William would bring down in the world if he managed to activate the stone. Apparently he was already immortal, now he would be invincible.
She had to find a way of getting them out of there.
“Why didn’t you just ask me for it?” she asked, trying to play the innocent bystander.
“Because your lover here got too nosy. He was supposed to just find me the stone, but instead he started poking around in things that weren’t his business,” William said and lifted Mason’s head by his hair. “Imagine my surprise when, after my guys had confirmed he was dead, he showed up in Hot Springs. So when Pamela sent me a photo of Mason, I realized that maybe I wasn’t the only one who had outlived the day of the massacre.”
“You bastard,” Mason growled low, startling them all.
He yanked himself from William’s grasp and sat up. It wasn’t an easy task considering his hands were bound at the back.
Chloe let out a sigh that echoed pure joy, but it was quickly crushed when she noticed that despite the sureness in his voice, Mason looked weak. The dried blood covered his entire left side, his chocolate eyes were sunk deep and his wide shoulders lacked his usual commanding stance.
“Oh, hello there, Mason Green,” William said with a dry smile. “Long time no see, old friend.”
“You double-crossing mother f―”
“Oh, Mason, please, watch your language in front of the ladies,” William retorted sarcastically. His lips curled into a lazy smile.
“You know each other?” Chloe felt left out of the joke.
“Chloe, meet Captain Clarke, the man who burned my tribe to the ground,” Mason’s glare never left William’s.
Chloe blinked as all the confusing loose ends in her dreams were finally tied up. It all made sense now.
“Please, old friend, give yourself some credit. I could never have done it without your help,” William replied.
Mason growled and yanked at the ropes―probably the only thing that kept him from ripping out William’s throat.
Her boss let out a low chuckle. “Pitiful.” Then he stood up and signaled to one of his men to come over. “Dwayne, bring it to me.”
The guard obeyed, bringing a duffle bag with him.
Chloe noticed Pamela shifting uncomfortably on the other side of the cave by the exit.
“As soon as I realized you could not be killed, Mason―or should I call you Prince Kaye?” William asked with a venomous humor, “I started searching for ways to…stop you.”
William opened the large sack and pulled out a chainsaw. Panic rose up Chloe’s spine like an electric shock. She darted her gaze to Mason and found him deadly still, eyes narrowed, chin low, jaw tight. He looked like an animal just before pouncing on its prey.
“So, how do you feel about being in several parts of the world, prince?” William asked, then turned the noisy machine on. “All at once.”
A whimper of alarm escaped Chloe’s lips. She couldn’t believe William, her charming and supportive boss, was going to chop Mason up in cold blood.
“Hold him down,” William barked, and two other guards joined the first one in accomplishing the task.
A large lump settled in Chloe’s throat at the thought of a life without Mason―whose eyes had suddenly gone completely red.
Whoa.
Chloe’s heart skipped a beat. She had seen him like that once before, at the campsite when he saved her from becoming a mountain lion’s supper. The eerie haze that encircled his body grew thicker, the red glow in his eyes intensified, his black pupils expanded and swallowed the white entirely. At that moment, Mason opened his mouth wide, and a large raven flew out as if it had been part of his soul.
“Oh, gosh,” she gasped, feeling her jaw drop to the floor. Mason was not only the immortal son of the great Tula warriors, but had magic in him as well.
With the large black raven circling above them, Mason tore himself out of the thick ropes, as if they were nothing but paper, and stood up. His broad shoulders were square and imposing, his muscles tense, his legs set apart and bent slightly, ready for battle. He was a magnificent sight.
Chloe realized she wasn’t the only one who had gone speechless. Everyone else in the cave had stopped to watch Mason’s incredible show of power. Their jaws dropped low, their eyes as wide as Chloe’s.
Movement in the corner of her eye called her attention, and she saw Pamela disappear into the internal chambers.
“What the hell are you guys waiting for?” William shouted, snapping his guards out of the hypnotic shock. “Seize him!”
With a deafening screech, the black bird descended on one of the mercenaries near Mason, going straight for the man’s jugular. Dwayne and another guard surrounded Mason. Dwayne threw a jab at Mason, who promptly shifted his weight and dodged the punch intended for his jaw
. Mason then stepped forward and hit the guy’s Adam’s apple with a straight hand. While his first attacker struggled for breath, Mason lifted his right leg, bent his knee high and threw a front-kick right at the other guard’s chest.
Chloe’s heart inflated with wonderment. Mason was beautiful in battle. His movements were precise, his reactions fast and clean.
Her mind suddenly recalled memories of a different time, when innocence still permeated the life of a young native girl. She saw him with long midnight hair and a dark feather adorning one of his braids. His firm body was only covered by a narrow breechcloth made of soft leather, which swayed freely with his movements, showcasing his stunning muscular figure. A powerful warrior, indeed.
Chloe’s moment of bliss was crushed to pieces when pain shot across her scalp as William dragged her up by the hair.
“You don’t want your little girlfriend to go first, do you, Mason?” William shouted, successfully stopping Mason mid-strike. The chainsaw in her manager’s left hand hung dangerously close to Chloe’s legs.
Chloe winced when two of the guards took advantage of Mason’s temporary distraction and jumped at him. Mason took one punch across the face but managed to block the second one.
“One more move and I’ll shred her into little pieces,” William barked and raised the chainsaw to Chloe’s chest.
Chloe couldn’t stop a terrified shriek from escaping her mouth. The machine’s sharp teeth were just inches from her T-shirt.
“Stop,” Mason shouted. “Don’t you dare hurt her, Crawford,” he added, then lifted his hands in surrender. At the same time, his massive bird left the corpse of his victim on the floor and circled high above.
“Good boy,” William replied calmly, but did not let go of her scalp. The two surviving mercenaries pinned Mason down.
Pamela arrived back with three other guards, who promptly dragged the dead body away and helped the other two with Mason. Not that it was necessary; Mason didn’t put up a fight. His gaze met Chloe’s and she saw grief and resignation in his chocolate eyes.
Hot tears burned down her cheeks. No, this can’t be the end. She refused to give up now, after all she’d been through to find the only man she had truly loved, just to lose him again.
An idea formed in her mind. It was a long shot, but she had to try it.
“How are you going to use the stone, William?” Chloe asked, trying to ignore the sharp blades of the chainsaw.
“I’ll figure it out once I find the other half,” her boss replied.
That meant he knew the Binding Stone had a second part. Damn it.
Forcing her mind to focus on one problem at a time, Chloe did the only thing she knew would call her boss’ attention―she questioned his abilities. “No, you won’t,” she said in even tones.
William Crawford hated being defied, and loved a challenge.
The deafening sound of the chainsaw died and William glared at her. “Yes, I will.”
“You can’t activate a magical artifact that was created for a chenesi,” she said, trying to fake a coolness she didn’t feel. “Only a spiritual leader can do that.”
“Chloe.” Mason’s quiet warning reverberated in the cave.
William’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What are you rattling on about, Miss Doyle?”
“You know I’m telling the truth, William. Untie me and I’ll show you,” she added, indicating her bound wrists.
“Chloe, don’t do this,” Mason said, true desperation in his baritone voice. “Look at me, Chloe!” He was silenced by a punch that whipped the wind out of his lungs.
“Dwayne, take this and be ready.” Her boss passed the chainsaw to the tall guard, then took an angry looking knife out of the sheath at his hip and brandished it in front of Chloe. “All I need is an one reason,” he added in an impossibly tender tone.
Chloe just nodded. She knew he wasn’t fooling around.
William walked behind her, and she felt her hands freed from the binds. Reflexively, she rubbed her fingers over her aching wrists.
Her boss pulled the stone out of his shirt’s front pocket and stretched it out toward her. “If you try anything funny, Dwayne will chop your prince up in no time.”
Just to reiterate his boss’ threat, the mousey-blond guy turned the chainsaw on. His ugly features contorted on a feeble attempt at a sadistic smile. Chloe would have laughed if she hadn’t been so certain he would slice Mason up in no time.
She glanced at Mason. He shook his head and mouthed “Don’t do it”, but they had no other option. She needed to buy them time.
Tearing her eyes off him, she took a deep breath and enveloped the stone with her hands.
The relic roared to life as if it had been waiting for her touch.
Everyone’s attention shifted to the amazing beams of light that radiated from the small object. Gasps of surprise echoed in the cave.
Chloe felt the familiar surge of energy shoot up her arm and swell her up. Delicious heat reverberated across her body, but this time she focused on its power, not the peaceful warmth it brought. Without wasting a second, she visualized everyone freezing in place. She didn’t know if that was the way to do it, but she had to make them stop, just like she had immobilized those men in the forest.
A proud smile lifted her cheeks when she looked around and realized that her spell had worked. The guards were frozen in place as they tried to stop Mason’s struggles. William stood right next to Chloe, his motionless gaze fixed on the stone. Pamela, at the cave’s entrance was caught mid-stride―the bitch was making her escape. Even the waterfalls and Mason’s raven had stopped moving, paralyzed in the air. Utter silence engulfed the cave.
Movement behind William stole her attention away from the enchanted spectacle. The light fog above the hot pool lifted and a beautiful Native American woman emerged a few feet above it.
Lady.
“Ami-Tolah,” Chloe exclaimed, bowing low. She recognized now that the woman in front of her was much more than her childhood friend, but she hoped she would help her just like when she was little. “Oh, dear Lady of the Rainbow, what should I do?”
Chloe felt the weight of destiny on her shoulders. There was only one way out―she had to give Crawford what he wanted in exchange for their lives, and thus steal Mason’s only chance to remove his curse. There was no time to weigh the options, no time to even give him a chance to fight.
Hopelessness tugged at her heart. Were her actions any better than Kaye’s?
“Yes, my child, they are,” Ami-Tolah replied to her unspoken question. Then, just like old times, she cocked her head slightly and looked at Chloe with tender eyes. “I am proud of you, Chloe. You’ve come a long way since our last encounter.”
Chloe didn’t feel that way. She was far from deserving praise. “I’ve made a mess, Lady. I can’t save Mason without giving up the stone to the one person who will use it to destroy everything that is worth living for in the world.”
“If you keep on telling yourself you can’t, you will eventually be right.”
Chloe sighed in resignation.
Ami-Tolah was right. Self-fulfilling prophecies were the deadliest ones.
“But how can I stop William? Yes, I’ve managed to freeze people in place but I don’t have the stomach to purposely disintegrate anyone. Besides, how can I lift their curse? Even if Mason is right and I have Adsila’s soul, she took no part in the making of the curse. The gods did it, not her.”
“Did they?”
The goddess’ question made Chloe stop. What did she mean by that?
Lady offered her hand. “Come with me, my dear.”
Chloe stepped away from William’s overbearing closeness and reached out. As soon as her alabaster hands met Ami-Tolah’s chocolate ones, Chloe felt another overwhelming electric shock run through her entire body. Closing her eyes, she let it engulf her mind and soul.
When she lifted her lids again, she was back in the tribal campsite. The thick smell of burnt thatch and human fl
esh saturated the air. Horrifying cries for help mixed with thumps and grunts echoed in the cold, dark night.
She was back at the evening of the massacre.
Once again, she found herself in the form of Adsila’s young body, running toward the safety of the dark forest. The whole experience felt strange, different from the other dreams she’d had. She was Adsila, but kept Chloe’s outsider’s perspective at the same time. She could feel her bare feet burning from the contact with the snow-covered ground, yet she could also see the ugly scratches on her cheeks, knees and elbows.
One half of the Binding Stone was still in her hand. Captain Clarke’s blood dripped from its broken tip. Chloe knew what was coming next and dreaded the moment.
She spotted Kaye’s tall figure kneeling down by a mistletoe tree. His hands covered his tear-stricken face, his shoulders shaking from the sobs. Just like in her previous vision, Kaye lifted his glazed eyes and announced he was the one who gave away their tribe’s location to the American captain, that he had been the one to blame for the deaths of their families.
Chloe felt the now-familiar rage overtake Adsila’s virgin heart. She heard her lips form the words that would drive Kaye to seek his own death.
“You are the true murderer of our tribe!”
Then she raised the stone and with the broken tip ripped a lock from her beloved’s hair.
Then the vision shifted. Her legs were on the run again. The forest was full of shadows, only lit by the fire consuming her village in the valley below.
Adsila knelt down on the cold ground by a large southern oak. Its mushroom-like crown provided the perfect shelter from the ashes cascading from the skies. Her chest heaved in exertion and grief.
How could he? Kaye had been her one true love, she looked up to him, adored him, and that unconditional love had made her naïve and blind. He didn’t care about her; he only cared about his own pride and triumph.
Images of the stinking captain on top of her invaded her mind―his callused hands touching her intimate folds, the stench of his putrid breath down her neck as he tried to force himself inside her.
“No, no!” she found herself crying out again. “To hell with all men!”